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A question I have, you have mentioned the black/gray market on a few occasions, but I have a somewhat hard time understanding it. In the US the only thing I can think of with similarity is a flea market, where you can buy some collection stuff(books, dvd's), some home-made stuff(leather belts etc) and a LOT of chinese crap they wouldnt sell in most stores. But never would one find firearms there, much less things like hand grenades. Why doesn't your police regulate and crackdown on some of the more illegal operations? Thanks, best of luck and congratulations with your new child!
Recon
I call them Black/Gray markets because they are mostly large fairs, most run illegally (rent of public space) and were a lot of conterfit, illegal and stolen products are sold.
For example in the “Larroque Outlet”, among the usual crap, Chinese yunk, etc. some stands sell stolen and counter fit clothes.
My sister’s father in law runs a transportation business and knows well that most of the merchandize that sometimes get stolen by asphalt pirates ( robberies that occur on the highways, usually away form the city and curious eyes) ends up there.
Some of these markets are like nothing you’ve ever seen.
I've been to a few markets in USA but these are totally different.
La Salada market is a case study, the thing looks like Barter town on steroids. There’s even a railroad ( in use!) running through the market.
When the train comes people move quickly away, move the stands full of merchandize that are over the rails, and once the train passes the space is occupied once again
People come from all over the country to buy stuff here and take back to re sell.
But you dont walk into the "La Salada" market and buy a bunch of grenades or guns. It’s not like Afghanistan were you buy Ak as if you’re buying bananas.
These are improvised ( VERY improvised) open air markets where you can find all kind of things, including stolen merchandize, counterfeit clothes, and such.
You can acquire weapons if you know the right ( well, actually wrong) kind of people, but you wont see any sold publicly.
This is of course illegal and not something you should be doing.
Guns you can legally buy in gunshops, so why do things the wrong way.
I suppose you have to see these places for yourself, they are hard to describe well.
“Why doesn't your police regulate and crackdown on some of the more illegal operations?”
Yesterday they showed a report on TV, on how cops of this same district “Lomas de Zamora” actually run THEIR own little market, selling autoparts of confiscated vehicles! :)
Cops don’t bust places like “La Salada”, they work extra hours there to make a few bucks.
The European Union once referred to “La Salada” as an icon of illegal commerce.
An image says more than 1000 words. I found this website with lots of pics of, “La Salada”.
http://www.sub.coop/VerAlbum.php?ALBU_ID=271
FerFAL
6 comments:
nice blog...
Thanks for the post! Very informative. I wouldn't necessarily want to buy firearms there(although grenades would be *kind of* cool), but in the US subguns and full auto is illegal unless you get approved and pay $200 tax, and that's only for old guns made before 1986, anything newer is unobtainable. So if I were planning on staying in a dire situation such as yours or the one we are well on our way to I may consider an alternate, less-than-legal means of acquiring such a weapon. I know a handgun is the primary choice of self-defense, but a concealable 9mm folding stock fullauto smg would likely even out any odds.
Again, thanks for this and all other posts, your information is invaluable.
Actually there is a flea market near me in Missouri that sells guns. I've never gone, but I have talked about going for years. I have a friend who bought a gun there, presumably legally (i.e. he's not a criminal anyway).
Some illegal gun trade was obviously going on there though, because there was a big bust some years back. The legal trade has continued however.
I really enjoy reading your blog and look forward to your post.
Wondering if you could enlighten us on employment trends in Argentina.
Here in the US the health care industry seems pretty solid.
Would really like to hear your thoughts on careers?
Thanks and please keep up the great work!
ive been thinking about this for a while, and maybe worrying more about being low-key is a smarter move than worrying about being armed to the teeth with smg's.
i read an article in a home fashion magazine today (decor?) about buenos aires, it had a lot of good to say and only mentioned the 2001 crash twice, stating it was good for tourists because everything was cheaper, and that it gave argentina a sense of authenticity in that they no longer imported a lot of the stuff they were accustomed to.
of course, its a FASHION magazine.. they did say though that the government there was planning on removing some 40,000 billboards as visual pollution.
Been reading through a lot of your blogged material. Must say that you are doing a good job. One point that I would make that really differs from Argentina.
For one thing, our rural areas are often heavily wooded, not all, but enough to make hiding very easy. Also, the weather in some of these places is lousy and those out to plunder aren't going to put themselves out -- they want easy targets.
Granted, they might not be affected by some fellow shooting at them with an old .30-06 from the living room window. But, when someone is over 1250 yards (1138 meters) away taking them out one by one, or sometimes if they are lined up just right, two or three, and the person doing the shooting has pre-sited the land he is covering and has pre-established shooting positions making his discovery much harder -- well, I don't think the guys with plunder in their mind interested is pursuing such activity any longer.
Oh, they'll shout curses and threats, but bullies have a notorious weakness, by and large, their basically cowards when their mates are gone, or the mates have decided that he is just getting them killed for nothing.
The idea really isn't to kill them all, but to make things so bloody and hard for them that it just isn't worth it.
Now, if real law breaks down, and we are left to enforce law on our own, then things will change even more drastically.
There is one form of full-auto that is legal and doesn't require getting the FFL for $200. It is a trigger device that when installed (no gunsmithing required) will turn the firearm (AK, SKS, Mini-14, Mini-30, etc.) into either a 3-shot auto or a full auto. If someone is not trained on full auto, I don't recommend it. You have to really learn trigger control so that you don't run through your ammo too quickly.
So, that may also be something that one of these gangs of pirates runs into. What a surprise to find several fully automatic firearms working away on them before they even have a chance to get set!!
No, in this old soldier's mind, I will not give such people a single chance. They come and they will have far more to deal with than they can even imagine. Too many of us old vets up here (Green Berets, Rangers, Airborne, Marine Corps Force Recon, etc.) and none of them has a sense of humor when it comes to pirates.
So, there are some real differences between our nations in all of this. However, your advice in many areas is spot on and I want to say -- Thanks!! Keep it up.
Iceman
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